


The Yule Promise

by DarkCorgi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, M/M, Mpreg, Romance, Slash, Spoilers, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-16
Updated: 2006-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-27 21:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10051067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkCorgi/pseuds/DarkCorgi
Summary: Severus finds out that there's something wrong with his former lover.  Will he find out what it is?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just playing because she'd never do this to our boys.  
Advertisement: Part of the SAC-2005 at: http://www.kardasi.com/Advent/2005/SAC-2005.htm  
Note: Mentions of MPREG and contains HBP spoilers.  
Beta: The WONDERFUL Magdelena!

 

When Filius Flitwick passed away in the beginning of November, Severus expected someone like Hermione Weasley, nee Granger, to take over the Charms post at Hogwarts. Instead of the bushy-haired woman he expected, a thin, pale and stooped Harry Potter arrived and Severus was puzzled. Why would Minerva hire him for the Charms position? It was never Potter's forte unlike Defence. Even more pressing was why would Minerva hire Potter without warning him? Surely she remembered how hurt he was when Severus moved out of the flat he shared with his former lover? Did she really think he could ignore Potter's presence? Severus certainly didn't think so. The pang he felt when Potter entered the Great Hall told him that he couldn't. He still loved the green-eyed wizard despite the fact that Potter didn't love him in return.

 

Potter didn't look at all like the man he left three years ago. Severus noticed he was extremely pale and deathly thin. He couldn't see Potter's face, shaggy black hair obscured it, and Severus noticed the lack of magical energy that always surrounded the younger man in the past. Potter was firmly caged between Minerva and Poppy and Severus wondered why the two women were watching the newest Professor so steadily. Severus steeled himself and ignored Potter and all the sudden chatter that erupted after his arrival. The students would be thrilled to have the Famous Harry Potter teaching them Charms. 

 

The rest of the meal went quietly, but Severus found it hard to ignore his former lover's presence. He couldn't help it and he sternly tried to discipline his wandering eye. He quickly fled the Great Hall as soon as he could and settled in his rooms with a large snifter of brandy. He stared into the fire and allowed his mind to wander. It inevitably called up the memories he most wanted to forget. One of its favourites was the night he had to kill Albus. The sight of Albus' body tumbling over the ledge of the Astronomy Tower still haunted his nightmares and all the pain that followed was as crisp now as it was the night it happened. That memory always led to his trial after Potter finally killed the Dark Lord. It wasn't something he wanted to remember, not because of the hardships being imprisoned caused, but because it was the start of his and Potter's relationship.

 

_He was captured right after Potter killed the Dark Lord and it was mostly because Severus was too shocked that the brat actually did it to be aware of his surroundings. Even worse was that he was captured by Potter and disarmed before he could react. He actually thought he was going to die by the boy's hand given the amount of rage in the young man's green eyes. Potter held him pinned with those eyes and trained the holly and phoenix feather wand on his chest. Severus stood calmly facing Potter, waiting for the jet of green magic to strike him down. He waited and waited before finally opening his eyes, which had closed without his permission. Potter stood there with his wand raised and a thoughtful look on his face. Severus decided to egg the brat on. He'd rather be dead than at the 'mercy' of the guards of Azkaban._

_"Don't have the balls to kill me, Potter? You're pathetic. Come on, I bet you swore to kill me in front of your little friends," Severus said with his best sneer._

_"Actually I swore to kill Voldemort the day of the Headmaster's funeral. That I did. I just don't know what I should do with you," Potter calmly replied, that thoughtful look back in his eyes._

_"Kill me, Potter. You know you want to, or are you a coward." Severus sneered again with contempt, but it wasn't causing Potter to scream with rage like it normally would. "Perhaps you need a gang to back you up like your father?"_

_"I don't need anyone to deal with you, nor do I feel the need to regurgitate your words from the night you killed Dumbledore. I don't think the Headmaster would want me to kill you," Harry said after a moment and then Severus knew nothing more._

_Severus woke in a small cell and mere moments after he regained consciousness he was visited by a flock of former students in Auror uniforms. The next half hour of his life was filled with pain. The event repeated at every shift change and by the time he was dragged out of his cell for his trial he wanted nothing more than to die. He didn't get that wish. Why didn't Potter kill him and save him this pain?_

_He found himself chained to a chair in the centre of the open floor in the court room located in the lowest levels of the Ministry of Magic. Hundreds of witches and wizards jeered at him and he was lucky that anything they brought to throw at him was confiscated before they entered the room. He didn't bother to listen to the head of Magical Law Enforcement as he listed his crimes, but Severus knew by the angry roar of the crowd that the MLE head just read the charges against him in reference to Albus' death. He knew he wouldn't get off on that one. There was an eyewitness that everyone would believe._

_Severus chose to ignore the testimony of every person the Ministry called on. It wasn't until Potter's name was called that he pulled himself out of his apathy. Everyone waited with anticipation for Potter's testimony. They went through the usual spiel of name, address and occupation before asking questions about Severus' behaviour as a teacher. Severus could already hear the verdict just based on Potter's description of him both in the classroom and outside of it. Then they asked about the night Albus was killed by him. He really didn't want to hear Harry's account, but forced himself to._

_"When I apparated Professor Dumbledore and myself back to Hogsmeade, the Headmaster was very ill and demanding that I bring him to Professor Snape, though he tried to hide the fact when we encountered Madam Rosemerta. She told us about the sighting of the dark mark over the school and we borrowed a pair of brooms from her so we could return to the school quickly. We landed on the Astronomy tower and before we could leave it the Headmaster heard something on the stairs. He had me put my father's invisibility cloak on and then he bound and silenced me against one of the tower's walls. Draco Malfoy arrived and disarmed the Headmaster moments after I was bound, and started talking about Voldemort and his parents. The Headmaster talked him out of murdering him, but unfortunately we found out that Malfoy managed to get a bunch of Death Eaters and Fenrir Greyback into the castle. They joined Malfoy in the tower and tried to force him to complete his assigned task. Snape arrived mere moments later, and locked gazes with the Headmaster. The Headmaster was whispering please and then Snape cast the killing curse, sending Professor Dumbledore flying over the ledge of the tower. Snape then ran out with the rest and I chased after him, but failed to stop him from leaving."_

_Severus blinked slowly in surprise. Potter's voice wasn't as sure as he thought it would be, and the Head of Law Enforcement noticed it too._

_"You don't sound so sure of the events, Mr. Potter. Why is that?"_

_"I'm sure of the events, just not the motive behind them. I spent the first two weeks of summer holiday wondering if things happened exactly the way I thought they did, or did I misinterpret what I saw." Potter paused to gather his thoughts. "Both Dumbledore and Snape are accomplished Occlumens and Legilimens and I don't know if in that instant of eye contact if they were communicating or not."_

_"Why were you out of the castle with Professor Dumbledore?"_

_"Voldemort," Potter paused in annoyance as everyone hissed and shuddered in fear, "divided his soul into seven pieces and infused several items with those pieces. Dumbledore and I went to retrieve the third hidden piece. When I thought back on this trip, I realized that I might have misinterpreted what I saw later that night."_

_"What happened?"_

_"Dumbledore had me force him to drink a potion that protected the item from thieves. He told me he was expendable while I wasn't."_

_"Never mind all that!" Cornelius Fudge shouted from the sidelines. "Why didn't you kill that bastard when you had the chance? You could have saved the Ministry time and money by doing so!"_

_"I didn't think the Headmaster wanted me to and I'm glad I didn't." Potter got up and walked over to his two friends. Granger handed him the object she held on her lap while Weasley set up a table. "When the battle was over a vault was transferred to my control once Voldemort's death was confirmed. It was from Dumbledore and this was in it." Potter opened the box Granger had given him and lifted out a Pensieve. "This was Dumbledore's and inside it is proof that everything that happened that night was planned. Malfoy was set up to fail to punish his father for failing to get the prophecy and getting himself arrested. Dumbledore's and Snape's actions were an attempt to redeem the youngest Malfoy."_

_"What does that have to do with anything?" Fudge roared, gaining support from the gathered witches and wizards._

_"Everything. This is proof that Snape's actions were on Dumbledore's orders. Now SHUT UP and listen." Potter tapped the Pensieve with his wand and muttered under his breath, projecting the memory for all to see._

_Severus watched and saw the image of himself reporting to Dumbledore about his meeting with 'Cissa and Bella, about the Unbreakable Vow and his lack of knowledge about Draco's task. He watched himself in numerous meetings with Dumbledore and more arguments on how to proceed than he could count. He didn't need the Pensieve to remember the last fight he and Albus had concerning the orders the old wizard demanded he follow. He wanted so badly for Albus to tell him that he didn't have to follow through, but instead Albus insisted he do as he promised he would. Severus remembered and watched as Albus said that he didn't expect to survive to see the end of the war and he would rather die on his own terms than by the Dark Lord's wand._

_Events of the past swirled inside ceramic bowl and Severus watched a replay of the day Dumbledore came to him suffering the effects of a dark withering spell. His memory image told the courtroom that he could only arrest the progress of the curse and that it was only a matter of time before it consumed Dumbledore's whole body._

_He became so lost in his own memories that he never noticed that the memories played to completion, Potter defending him, or the Wizengamot declaring him innocent of all charges. It wasn't until Potter and McGonagall grabbed his arms that he came out of his thoughts and looked around the now empty court in bewilderment. Minerva's eyes softened when she saw the pain and grief Severus knew was etched in his eyes. Severus allowed the two to lead him out of the Ministry. To his surprise they apparated him to Hogwarts and he soon found himself ensconced in his old quarters, all his personal belongings still exactly where he left them when he fled._

 

Severus jerked his mind out the past and gazed around his quarters. He was surprised that he was offered his old potions post again, but gratefully took it. While he was re-establishing himself as a Professor, Potter went about retrieving the personal items from his home that the Ministry confiscated and getting the Azkaban guards fired due to their treatment of him. He still didn't know how Potter found out about their actions. The pest visited regularly and spent several hours with him doing what ever nasty task Severus dreamt up to drive him away. It failed miserably and since he didn't need to hide who he was anymore, he allowed Potter to visit. Slowly he began to see Potter as himself instead of an extension of his father.

 

During those visits something different happened to Severus. He quickly fell in love with Potter and he thought Potter loved him in return. It certainly felt that way when they made love, but Potter never said those three little words to him. Not once. After two years of waiting and hoping, Severus gave up and left. He didn't say a word or leave a note. He just packed everything he owned and returned to Hogwarts. He never saw Potter again, until today that was. Severus would make it a point to avoid the younger wizard as much as he can.

 

Potter never approached him and Severus wondered why the green-eyed wizard looked so haggard and drained. Potter seemed like a ghost of himself and Severus felt his curiosity rise. It was a mystery and he couldn't resist. So he set about observing Potter and he didn't learn anything new, except that Potter was far worse than he thought. Potter strained to do the simplest spell and Severus was at a loss as to why. Several times during his quest to figure out what was wrong with Potter, he found his subject gazing sadly at him, a smothered longing in his eyes before he dejectedly turned away. That left Severus even more frustrated.

 

Time marched on as it always did and soon it was Christmas Holidays and he'd get rid of all those annoying students who insisted on making his life miserable. Unfortunately he still had to deal with those staying at the castle and that was quite a few thanks to the Dark Lord and his minions. Christmas Eve dawned bright and cheerful, or at least that's what Minerva said it was. He spent his time observing his quarry and noticed that all of the staff was watching just as closely as he was. Severus noticed them all gathering in the staff room after Minerva spoke to each individually. She didn't approach him or Potter and Severus was determined to find out what was going on. He took to one of the many secret passages within the castle walls. One lead to a secret chamber that allowed one to spy on the occupants of the staff room and that was Severus' goal. He settled by the spy holes just before Minerva entered the room. 

 

"Minerva, we've done as you asked, but why are we watching Harry so closely?" Pomona asked and several other voices seconded her question.

 

"Poppy and I wanted you all to help us watch Harry because he's suicidal. It's the reason why I hired him to teach Charms. We were hoping his being back at Hogwarts would give him new life, but it's failed miserably," Minerva told them sadly, meeting each person's eye as she did so.

 

"Why is Harry in such a state? It's not like him. He certainly had more reason when he was still a student." Vector looked completely puzzled and Severus couldn't agree more.

 

"I cannot tell you why Harry's in such a state. It's a violation of his rights and my oath," Poppy told the room with a grim expression. "I will say he's had a series of blows that proved too much even for him."

 

"We just want you all to keep as close an eye on him as you can," Minerva said before dismissing the teachers.

 

Severus returned to his rooms with more questions than answers and it didn't look like he was going to get any answers in the near future. Not unless fate decided to interfere. The rising sound of voices arguing broke his concentration and he stormed out into the hallway. The voices were shouting from inside his classroom. His classroom! He stormed into the room and bellowed and the nasty little cretins ignored him. Nothing he did distracted the fighting students from their conflict. Severus sent his Patronus out to summon help and Potter was the first to answer his call. As he tried to separate the quarrelling groups he noticed that they belong to both Slytherin and Gryffindor and the battle lines weren't drawn between houses. There was a mix of both houses on each side of the fight and they were too absorbed in their conflict to notice him.

 

Even Potter's voice added to his didn't deter the combatants. It was as if the lot of them were under the effects of a deafening spell. The students all began firing hexes at each other and caught Severus flat footed. He wasn't able to cancel the spells the two groups sent at each other. Unfortunately those fired spells connected with each other, how many Severus couldn't tell, and rebounded towards the floor and the ceiling. The ceiling began to crumble from the force of the impacts and the dust obscured Severus' view of the floor. Potter reacted faster than he did and tossed a spell that forcibly shoved the students into the hallway. Severus was halfway across the room when he noticed Potter half-slumped against the wall. 

 

Severus raced back to Potter's side just as a huge portion of the ceiling impacted with the floor. There was no way he was going to make it back across the room with his unconscious colleague. That left one refuge for them; the ingredient closet. Severus flung the door open and dragged Potter's limp body through the door way. He barely got them to safety in time. Potter's feet were scarcely through the threshold before the rest of the classroom ceiling came crashing down, activating the safety wards around the storage room. Rubble blocked the entranceway and Severus wasn't taking any bets on the condition of the classroom floor. They were stuck until someone came to get them or Hogwarts managed to heal the damage done to itself. This room was spelled to prevent the use of magic around the potentially dangerous ingredients, which also prevented them from getting out. 

 

With Potter unconscious next to him, Severus finally got a good look at his former lover. Potter was much thinner than Severus first thought and his skin was almost transparent. The familiar tingle of magic Severus always felt when he touched the other man's skin was absent and this bothered him greatly. It was as if Potter's magic had left him.

 

Potter slowly regained consciousness about an hour after the accident that trapped them in the magicless closet. When his eyes opened, Severus saw those familiar vivid green eyes, but they no longer sparkled with life. They looked like two glass orbs. This was just another mystery for him to solve, but he still more questions that had no answers and he was becoming frustrated at his inability to find the answers. Potter looked around the room and then settled his gaze on Severus. Severus saw that look of longing creep into those green eyes before it was smothered by the younger man's eyelids.

 

"Potter," Severus snapped when those eyes closed. "What's wrong? I can't feel your magic."

 

"Good. Maybe it's left me and then I can leave this prison."

 

"Why do you want to leave?" Severus was puzzled by Potter's reaction.

 

"Why do you pretend to care?" Harry snapped back before curling into a ball with his face turned away from Severus.

 

"I care, you pain in the ass. You know I do!"

 

"No you don't." Harry bolted into a sitting position to glare at Severus. "You left me. I came home to find everything of yours gone. There was no note, nothing. You just left!"

 

"I loved you, Potter, but you didn't love me in return!"

 

"I love you more than life itself." Severus could almost see Potter's soul through those eyes. It was the most emotion he's seen on Potter's face since before he left the younger man.

 

"You never gave any indication of that!" Severus yelled despite his best efforts to keep him cool.

 

"Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotion, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked this easily –weak people- they stand no chance against his powers."¹ Harry recited in a monotone. "Do you remember that?"

 

"Yes, I do, but why did you choose to listen to that and nothing else I've tried to hammer into your head? Why didn't you tell me that you loved me?"

 

"Doesn't matter anymore." Potter rolled onto his side, facing the shelves. "Everything I love leaves me, even when they've never met me."

 

Severus wondered what he meant by that, but was distracted by the sound of shifting rock outside the pile of rubble blocking the door. A small space was cleared and slipping through the opening was a very familiar feline form. Much to Severus' surprise, Minerva was able to regain her human form despite the wards preventing the use of magic.

 

"It's an internalised form of magic, Severus. It isn't affected by the wards around your ingredients," Minerva answered the question she saw written in Severus' face. "One has to cast specifically against Animagi in order to keep them out or prevent them from returning to their natural form."

 

"Ah. How bad is the damage those dunderheads caused?" 

 

"Fairly bad. The floor collapsed after the ceiling landed on it. Hogwarts is slowly pulling the pieces of herself back together. The rest of the Professors are helping along with the house-elves."

 

"Did you find out what they were fighting about and why they were doing so in my classroom?"

 

"It seems they had a disagreement about your trial and the proof presented. They also decided it was their right to discuss your old relationship with Harry." Minerva rolled her eyes as she told him what was going on. "The group that believed all the proof Harry brought to your trial was false and were determined to find their own in your classroom and office. The other group tried to intercept them. You obviously know the rest."

 

Severus snorted in disgust and moved over to Potter and checked the younger man's pulse. It seems that Potter had fallen asleep after his last outburst and Severus decided to get those elusive answers to his questions from Minerva.

 

"Tell me Minerva, why would he believe that everyone he loves would leave him?"

 

"You did. Albus, Sirius and Molly Weasley did too," Minerva said quietly, giving him a level glance as she did so.

 

"Why would he say that someone who's never met him would leave him?" That bothered Severus the most when Harry said it earlier.

 

"I'm not at liberty to tell you that, Severus." 

 

"Don't give me that. Just tell me!"

 

"Severus, you and he are no longer together. It's no longer your business."

 

"Minerva, I still love him and from what I saw earlier he loves me. Please tell me why his magic is so depleted."

 

"If you still love him why did you leave?" Minerva was rather confused given the baffled expression on her face.

 

"He, for some reason, latched onto something I said during his Occlumency lessons. I believe he thought that I didn't want him to appear weak so he never told me his feelings or let me see them. What's wrong with him?"

 

Minerva sighed and looked to the heavens for strength before returning her gaze to Severus' face. Whatever she saw there convinced her to spill the information she kept close. Severus was glad he learned to lower his barriers and drop his masks in Minerva's presence because he knew that he'd never get any answers if he didn't.

 

"Harry found out after you left that he was pregnant. I don't know what you know about male pregnancies, but both partners must be together during the entire process since the baby requires a lot of magic to sustain itself. Since you left him, the baby drew all its needs from Harry, but he couldn't provide enough to allow the foetus to develop. He lost the baby after the third month. His magic and state of mind never recovered."

 

"Which is why you forced him to teach?"

 

"Yes. We were hoping to keep him from hurting himself and maybe focus his attention on something outside himself."

 

Severus sat down on the floor next to his former lover and absorbed the information Minerva gave him, as she left the two of them alone. He wondered for a moment what happened to the Weasley duo that stood at his side for seven years of schooling. He wouldn't be surprised to find that Harry pushed them away. Severus shook his head slightly as he realized his thoughts returned to calling the younger man Harry instead of Potter. It hit him moments later that he was almost a father and he had to quickly press his hands to his eyes to prevent the tears that suddenly demanded to be released. 

 

It was several hours of waiting before the castle, house-elves and teachers were able to repair the damage that the students caused in the potions classroom and once they were able to leave the closet, Severus scooped Harry up in his arms. He barrelled through the throng of people and raced the sleeping form up the stairs to the Hospital Wing. Poppy tutted and fussed over Harry's prone formed and tried to chase Severus out of the wing, but he just glared and refused to budge. There was no way he was going to leave and miss the younger man when he was released from Poppy's clutches. He knew damn well that Harry was going to go out of his way to avoid him and he wasn't going to give the younger man the chance.

 

It was the wee morning hours of Christmas day when Harry's stirring woke Severus from his dozing in the chair beside the younger man's hospital bed. Harry fumbled for his glasses and blinked when he noticed Severus sitting by his bed. The younger man tried to turn away, but Severus stood and prevented him from doing so.

 

"Harry, look at me." Harry reluctantly did as he was asked and looked at Severus. "You said you still loved me and I still love you. Do you wish to start over?"

 

"Yes," Harry replied in a small voice.

 

"Today is Christmas and there's an old belief that the wizarding world holds dear. Promises made during Yule are the strongest and hardest to break pledges. Legend states that those promises and treaties made during this time of year have never been broke. I promise never to hide how I feel from you nor will I ever willingly leave you. Can you promise me the same?"

 

Harry looked him deeply in the eye as if looking for a falsehood before responding.

 

"I promise never to hide how I feel from you nor will I ever willingly leave you." Harry's soft voice was nearly inaudible despite the silence in the Hospital Wing.

 

"Now shove over and give me some room." Severus helped Harry move over and kicked off his shoes. 

 

Severus settled next to Harry on the narrow hospital bed and gathered the thin body close. Harry allowed the tears he obviously had been holding back for a long while free and Severus held him through the aftermath of his pent up grief. Not long after that Harry fell asleep once again and Severus pressed a kiss against the younger man's forehead before allowing sleep to claim him once again. During the last seconds of consciousness he felt a wave of triumph and the smugness from a source outside himself, but sleep claimed him before he could identify it. It would have to remain a mystery until he was ready to solve it. For now Harry's well being was most important and nothing was going to deter him from that. Not even mysterious smug entities.

**Fin**


End file.
